Browsing by Author "Makena, Betty"

Filter results by typing the first few letters
Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Use of earth observation products to enhance humanitarian disaster response: A Case Study of KRCS Response to West Pokot Mudslides in 2019
    (Researchgate, 2020-12-01) Osunga, Michael; Makena, Betty; Abdillahi, Halima Saado
    Kenya is mostly affected by mudslides and floods during two rainfall seasons, namely March-April-May (MAM) and October-November-December (OND). These landslides, floods and mudslides more often than not lead to loss of human lives, destruction of houses, displacement of people, livestock deaths, loss livelihoods among other impacts. This paper highlights the use of earth observation satellite imageries from the Airbus foundation for-disaster impact assessment during the 2019 OND rainfall season to support effective response. On the 23rd of November 2019 during the OND rainfall season, mudslides and floods occurred in West Pokot resulting in disruption of road accessibility, loss of human lives, loss of livelihoods, houses destruction and displacement of people. Due to continuation of rainfall, roads were cut-off and hence it was difficult to access the area to determine the damage and the number of households affected. Through the partnership with Airbus foundation, International Center for Humanitarian Affairs (ICHA) at Kenya Red Cross Society (KRCS) tasked the Pleiades satellite to acquire imageries of the affected areas five days after the mudslide event. A spot 6 imagery archive captured on the 15th of May 2019 (months before the mudslide event) was downloaded from the Airbus foundation archives. A comparison of these two imageries through change detection was done in order to extract mudslide and flooding hazard extents. A hazard exposure analysis was done in order to determine houses and roads affected by the mudslide and flood hazard. Results from exposure analysis revealed over 145 houses as being destroyed and over 2.1 kilometers of roads being cut-off. Further analysis was done to determine partially and completely destroyed houses. KRCS was able to use this information for post-disaster recovery interventions such as search and rescue as well as shelter initiation of re-construction houses that were completely damaged by floods and mudslides. This study has demonstrated the valuable use of satellite imageries from the Airbus Foundation to KRCS through provision of timely and accurate information on impacts of mudslides and floods in remote and inaccessible areas in a cost-effective manner and further support effective and efficient response and recovery. It is highly recommended for KRCS and other Red Cross and Red Crescent National Societies to use earth observation satellites for post-disaster assessment especially in remote areas that are inaccessible. This by far would improve their humanitarian capacity in conducting post-disaster assessments in a cost-effective and timely manner.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Use of Geo-Information Tools to Investigate Flood Risk: A Case Study of Kwale County
    (International Center for Humanitarian Affairs, 2020) Makena, Betty; Osunga, Michael; King'ori, Sarah; Abdillahi, Halima Saado
    Five years since the adoption of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015-2030, the concept of building resilience amongst communities to flooding is still a major concern in developing countries. This is evident from the ever-increasing flood events across Kenya and the inability of communities affected by floods to act appropriately prior to a flood event. Kwale County, in Kenya, the example of this study typifies this situation. Kenya Red Cross Society implemented a project whose goal was to strengthen institutional and community capacity in anticipatory flood risk management. The project employed the early warning services (EWS) model in understanding knowledge of flood risks. To investigate flood risk in Kwale County, openly available geo-information tools were used in systematic collection of information to understand areas exposed to floods, the communities affected and impacts they experience. These tools included; the Height Above Nearest Drainage (HAND) that identified flood prone areas and dwellings at risk of flooding from satellite imagery analysis. Open Street Map Automated Navigation Directions (OsmAnd) mobile navigation system that geo-located dwellings at risk of flooding and Kobo that collected geo-tagged data to validate inhabited buildings as to whether they are at risk of flooding. The results showed that, HAND technique identified dwellings at risk of flooding with 89% accuracy. Geo-location using OsmAnd showed that most houses identified to be at risk of flooding were falling within a circle with a radius of 5 meters. The results also show that the majority of the study area is characterized by moderate to very high flood hazard risks; 16% characterized by very high flood hazard risk, while 26% are at medium risk of flooding. This study demonstrates that HAND is a reliable tool for identification of houses at risk of flooding. The county government of Kwale and other acting institutions should endeavor in the use of these geo-information tools in investigating flood risk. Information obtained from these tools will enable such institutions to understand flood prone areas and communities at high risk of floods for better prioritization of early warning system needs and in guiding flood preparedness and early response activities.